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Student Dies from Apparent Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound at Stillwater, Oklahoma Middle School

September 26, 2012 by

A student has died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Stillwater Junior High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma this morning.  According to Sherry Fletcher, a representative of the city of Stillwater, no other injuries have been reported and the district is reuniting students with their families at an off campus site.  There have been a number of accidental shootings as well as suicides on school campuses in Georgia, Texas, Utah, Tennessee and a number of other states over the past several decades. 

This tragic incident underscores the need for effective prevention and mitigation strategies, crisis plans, detailed off-site family reunification plans and robust mental health recovery plans for schools and school systems.

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Connecting Staff, Students, Parents and the Place of School

September 25, 2012 by

One of the things that is very striking when working with a wide variety of schools and school districts in different communities is the variation between the levels of connectivity between students, staff, parents and individual schools and districts.  While school staff typically work diligently to achieve a high degree of connectivity and positive relationships between people, there are often wide variances between how effectively this is done.  Though there are clearly differences in community factors that can create significant and widely varying challenges for school officials, we have seen some truly impressive examples of positive school climate and connectivity in schools that face incredible challenges. 

Fortunately, there are many ways to foster a positive school climate with a high degree of connectivity.  We are also fortunate that there are many excellent free resources to help school officials in this area.  One commonality that can often be observed when this type of environment has been achieved is a sense of teamwork.  When teachers, support staff as well as the members of the administrative team are all on the same page and working in the same direction, a healthy school climate and culture is more likely to result. 

Though creating this type of climate in a school is easier said than done, it is possible and worthwhile to do so.

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Ron Clark’s Book The Essential 55 is an Awesome Book for Educators

September 22, 2012 by

Though I am not an educator by profession, I do try to learn what I can about the teachers we are trying to make safer through our center’s work.  I have had several clients tell me that Ron Clark was an excellent presenter and that his book The Essential 55 An Award-Winning Educator’s Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child was superb.  When I read the book, I found that I had not been misled.  As much of what Mr. Clark talks about in his book has a direct bearing on school climate which in turn correlates closely to school safety and violence prevention, I recommend this book to anyone who works in the field of K12 school safety.

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School and Public Safety Officials Encounter Increased Numbers of Cyber Threats Relating to School Violence

September 21, 2012 by

 As a recent case in Washington State illustrates, there are individuals who will communicate threats via electronic means.  Unfortunately, this case is not unique as we have been seeing this type of situation play out for more than a decade.  Compounding the impact of the vast majority of the threats which are not actual attack warnings are the few but horrific instances where someone has made statements of great concern prior to an actual attack.

A solid relationship with law enforcement officials can provide a good foundation for schools to more effectively address these challenging situations.  Local law enforcement agencies that do not have the resources to investigate cybercrimes can obtain valuable assistance from state and federal agencies that have these types of resources.  A number of arrests have been made when local, state and/or federal agencies work to assist public and non-public schools that are the target of these malicious and sometimes disturbing threats.

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Tennessee School Bus Crash Demonstrates the Need for Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plans and training in the National Incident Management Syste

September 21, 2012 by

Twenty-five students from the Washington County, Tennessee School District have been transported to hospitals following a school bus crash.  Students from David Crocket High school were injured yesterday afternoon when some of the bus wheels went off of the edge of the road causing a crash.  The school bus driver was also transported to the hospital due to concerns about chest pains she was experiencing. 

While American school bus drivers have a superb safety record in relation to other forms of transport for students, incidents where large numbers of students are injured in a crash do sometimes occur.  In addition to good training and policies to help prevent crashes, school transportation officials should develop comprehensive crisis plans that can address these types of challenging incidents.  This type of incident also demonstrates the importance of training in the National Incident Management System (the NIMS) for school and pupil transportation employees.

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Free Video Podcast on Targeted Acts of Violence in Schools Clarifies “Active Shooter” Incidents

September 21, 2012 by

Safe Havens Video has posted a free school safety video podcast that explains what a targeted act of violence in schools is.  Often referred to as active shooter situations, these deadly but rare acts of violence have dominated the media coverage of school safety and have dramatically shaped the way school and public safety officials think about school weapons violence.   

Keeping these terrible incidents in context with far more common types of school weapons assaults is important to help maintain appropriate balance in prevention and emergency preparedness efforts.

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